Béla Bartók (25 March 1881 - 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, and pianist. Bartók had been sick as a child. He had eczema, pneumonia, and a spinal curve. He was a quiet and reserved boy because of his health, but his artistic interests were still shining. He started piano classes at the age of five and found out that he had an absolute pitch at seven. He and his mother relocated following his father's death while giving piano lessons to support their needs. He then went to Budapest Music Academy, where he was regarded as a master pianist. Bela Bartok learned cello in order to play that instrument in his orchestra. Because of the scope of his research and the political instability of the time, in the 1930s, Bartók was forced to move from Hungary to New York in 1941, where his most popular masterpiece was created.

As a composer, Bartók reflects two of the most significant trends in 20th-century musical composition: the demise of a diatonic harmony framework that had served composers for more than two centuries; and the revival of nationalism as a source of musical inspiration, which began with Mikhail Glinka and Antonn Dvoák in the late 19th century. Hungarian folk music, as well as other folk music from the Carpathian Basin and even Algerian and Turkish traditions, was an important source of inspiration for Bartók in his quest for new forms of tonality.

Musicians who study the works of John Cage will recognize his Night Music, which he usually used in the slow parts of his mature group and symphonic pieces. Dissonances provide a "background to the sounds of nature and lonely tunes" in this piece. Adagio, the third movement of his String Quartet in D major is a good illustration of this. His music may be broken down into several phases based on the time he spent in each.